Travels with Herbie (and 18 little quilts) - aka The Traveling Quilt Show

Meet Herbie
Photo by Jaynie Himsl SK-RR

For six weeks Herbie and the quilts traveled across Manitoba, from Kenora to Brandon and points south. The quilters (and non-quilters) at every stop were enthusiastic in their welcome, wowed by the beautiful little quilts, oohing and ahhing over the workmanship and imagination that had gone into the design of each quilt. Many were also amazed at how compact the show was, neatly fitting into the little blue suitcase! Each group that saw the show was very appreciative of the chance to see the quilts, definitely pleased that the show had been brought to them, for many would not have been able to see them otherwise. It was an excellent chance to meet with members of several guilds.

January in Manitoba can be terrible. This year was somewhat different. Yes, there were storms and freezing rain, but overall, the bad weather kindly appeared in days when the show was not on the road. On only one day were there any problems, and that was the day to visit Brandon. There had been freezing rain, and on the morning of the show, more rain and fog. As the month was nearly over, rescheduling would have been a problem, so the decision to try to get to Brandon was made. It was a slow trip, given the state of the highway.  Seeing a vehicle in the ditch is always a little unnerving, but in this case it was a semi (or at least what was left of it - no cab in sight, just the trailer with boxes strewn about in the ditch), and elsewhere some sort of highway equipment, with a row of tow trucks and cranes trying to extricate it from deep in the snow. The fog and rain disappeared halfway to our destination, and  slow and steady got us to Brandon and a very warm welcome. (Returning home, the highway was in slightly better shape, though there were more tow trucks and cranes still trying to get something out of the ditch, causing about a two mile long back up of vehicles that couldn't get by. Farther on were a very battered trailer and an equally battered sanding truck, both being towed). It was really quite amazing that the weather was as good as it was.
 

During the six weeks that Herbie and the quilts were in Manitoba,  there were showings at three different retreats, seven guilds, four small groups, and at the Manitoba Prairie Quilters and Winnipeg Embroiderers Guild meetings.